Reddit Imposes Ban On 'White Nationalist' Alt-Right Subreddit

Reddit, also known as the "front page of the Internet", has banned the "/r/altright" subreddit. It was supposedly one of the major online gathering for the alt-right or alternative right group.

Alt-right is a loose white nationalist ideological movement made up of Trump supporters and conservative groups. It attracted media attention during the 2016 presidential election. Its Reddit community, which managed to garner more than 16,000 subscribers when Donald Trump officially became president of the United States, was a frequent online source of racist and misogynistic dialogue.

A message regarding the ban can be seen when one visits "/r/altright" subreddit. It says, "This subreddit was banned due to a violation of our content policy, specifically, the proliferation of personal and confidential information."

"Reddit is the proud home to some of the most authentic conversations online," says the company. "We strive to be a welcoming, open platform for all by trusting our users to maintain an environment that cultivates genuine conversation and adheres to our content policy." Reddit was previously under scrutiny when its Chief Executive Officer, Steve Huffman, admitted in November of last year that he edited some posts on The_Donald, a subreddit that was pro-Trump.

Reddit did not expound on the exact violation of the community, however, users believe that the subreddit had posts, which displayed private personal information that is not allowed on the site. Some /r/altright users were posting links to WeSearchr. The site, which dubs itself as crowdfunding journalism, works by posting bounties on questions people want answered. A person who can provide the answer to the question gets paid. It seems a bounty worth 5,353 USD is up for the identity of the protester who punched Richard Spencer in the face during Trump's inauguration.

In line with this, Alex Ohanian (with the username "kn0thing"), Reddit co-founder, posted an open letter calling Trump's controversial immigration ban "deeply un-American" and "potentially unconstitutional". He details that he was the son of a German immigrant and a great grandson to refugees who fled the Armenian genocide.